Demon Hunt: A Fantasy Story
by pichu9
Summary: There are humans. There are demons. In a fantasy world, Danny Harada escorts a princess to end a war. However, he must battle against the greed of humans, as well as his past. Grammer errors present. Mild violence, but not rated M violence. Romance too. All my OCs
1. Chapter 1

"And why would you think I would know where he is?"

Danny Harada, a teenager in his school, looked up at one of his teachers, closing the textbook he was reading. The teacher sighed and said, "well, he's been absent since your lunch break so I was just wondering…." Danny rose an eyebrow and was about to reply until one of the school's many messengers appeared and said, "Danny Harada, the headmaster would like to speak with you."

"Very well," Danny answered, packing up and heading toward the headmaster's office.

"Welcome Harada," the headmaster greeted cheerfully. Danny did the best smile he could muster given the impromptuness of the situation as the headmaster showed him to a seat. Danny sat uncomfortably as he suddenly felt a chill in the air, as well as what felt like a thick blanket cover the area.

The headmaster sat down opposite of him as he asked, "why did you call me down, headmaster?" The headmaster licked his apparently dry lips and said, "well, it involves your occupation." The headmaster, who had closed his eyes, opened them revealing scarlet irises, as well as sharpened fangs. The headmaster's arms also grew in size as he said, "Demon Hunter of the Guild Mercenaries!"

Glowing ribbons appeared out of thin air with ancient markings and text on them, forming what appeared to be a sword sheath and handle. The items solidified as Danny grabbed the sword handle, having been in this situation so many times before. The headmaster jumped at him as Danny drew, cutting his head horizontally in two. Blood quickly splashed along the walls and the window on the door as Danny's breath got heavier out of surprise and adrenaline.

"Oh jeez," Danny breathed out, "that was too close."

Just then, the door opened, causing him to jump and turn around in surprise, ready to defend himself. To his relief, it was just another hunter, Blaze, who happened to be his best friend.

"Well well well," Blaze said, laughing, "looks like you did my job for me!" Danny sighed and said back, "first off, he took me for you, and second of all, turn around." Blaze did so, seeing another one jumping at him. Blaze did a sidestep as Danny drew his katana back, stabbing it between the eyes and flinging it to the opposite wall. Looking back, he watched as a group of the creatures that were just like the headmaster appeared. Danny groaned in annoyance; this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

><p>"RAAHH!"<p>

Danny's sword cut the last of the creatures in half as Blaze hit the ground in utter exhaustion. Sweat poured down Danny's face as he turned toward Blaze and asked him, "isn't this where your squad comes in to clean this mess up?" Blaze laughed and said, "true, true."

Slashing his katana's blade clean, Danny looked around in the bloodied halls of the building, now littered with bodies. Sighing, he muttered out, "I'm sorry," turning around and saying to Blaze, "well, my job here's done. Have fun cleaning up."


	2. Chapter 2

"_In the beginning, there were humans and demons._

"_The humans were a peaceful race, but when arguments broke out, war was a common conclusion._

"_The demons were also peaceful, and were very powerful, but negotiated their conflicts for they knew of their power._

"_The humans began to grow jealous of the demons and began a war to prove which was the stronger species."_

"But the humans didn't start the war, the demons did," one particularly insensitive student blurted out, catching Danny's ear. Danny Harada was a 16-year old student in his school in Ameris City in the kingdom of Ameris, which was the human superpower in this raging war. His jet black hair and bronze colored eyes scanned the room for any uncomfortableness, surprisingly not seeing anything out of the ordinary except for the teacher yelling at the insensitive student. He checked to see if the bandaging on his upper arms were at all loose, finding them still tight on his arms as usual.

"Anyway, now onto the next chapter," the instructor said after his lecturing of the student. Danny stared at the man as he instructed them to open their textbooks, which, in his opinion, were way too thick. Despite it all, he never did drop his habit of just taking it everywhere whenever he was in school.

Half-way into opening the absurdly thick book, a messenger bird appeared and landed on his table with a letter in its beak. Raising an eyebrow, the bird dropped the letter and flew off again, right as the instructor turned around to continue instruction, noticing Danny with the letter in his hand.

"Danny Harada," the instructor said, "is there something you'd wish to share with us?"

Sighing, Danny opened the letter, reading aloud, "Dear Instructor, this is Danny's guardian, Allen. I wish to excuse him for the rest of today's lessons for personal reasons. Sincerely, Allen." All of his classmates groaned in disbelief; this was the fifth time this month he was being excused by his guardian. The instructor let out an annoyed sigh and allowed Danny his leave. Upon leaving the classroom, Danny immediately said after shutting the door, "you cease to amaze me sir."

To the right of Danny stood a man, probably in his early to mid thirties, standing with a grin on his face as he replied, "I amaze everyone, Daniel." Danny shot a look at the man and said, "I told you not to call me 'Daniel.'"

The man turned his back toward Danny and said, "it's only appropriate to call you 'Daniel' when you're in the presence of royalty." Danny immediately caught wind of the keyword in the sentence. Royalty. Royalty meant a visit with the King and Queen. It also meant absolutely no demonic presence.

"...I'm going to pass…," Danny immediately stated.

The man turned around and said, "you cannot pass on this one, Danny."

"But Allen-!"

"But nothing Danny. The king and queen have specifically called for the best warriors we have within Ameris City. You are one of them."

Danny turned away from the man, Allen, and muttered to himself, "then I'm going to get killed in less than five seconds."

Allen, Danny's guardian and the leader of the Ameris City Guildsmen Mercenaries, caught wind of his comment and replied, "don't worry; you won't be killed within the presence of someone outside the kingdom."

Looking back at Allen, Danny put on a look of disagreement and muttered to himself, "but I still don't like this idea…."

* * *

><p>"HALT!"<p>

Danny and Allen stopped before the gate of the palace as Allen showed the guardsman his invitation. The guardsman looked reluctant to let them through, looking back at the other guards. Finally, the gates began to open as a mature feminine voice said, "let him through." Allen smiled like a madman while Danny looked away. The guards all got on their knees and bowed as a very finely dressed woman made her way toward the two, saying, "they were invited by me and the king."

Allen kneeled and said, "it is an honor to be in your presence, Queen Archangel."

The woman smiled at Allen, then turned her attention toward Danny.

"...A child…?" The queen asked Allen in surprise. Allen looked up and answered, "despite his age and being a jack-of-all-trades as opposed to being a full mercenary, he is one of the finest young swordsman we have."

The queen kept her gaze on Danny, then smirked and said, "then we shall test him." Motioning toward one of the guards, she walked up to him and said, "child, let us test your strength." Danny kept his gaze on her as she left, then heard a yell of triumph, turning to see a guard charging at him. Out of instinct, he sidestepped the charging guard, grabbing the spear he was holding, hitting the guard square in the back with the back of the spear, receiving an applaud from the queen, who asked the other guards, "who'll step up now?"

Dropping the spear, Danny suddenly found himself surrounded by guards. He shot a glance at Allen, who was now sitting next to the queen on a high stand. Allen shrugged at him and worded out, "go with it."

"What a drag…," Danny sighed, sidestepping to avoid the spear, stealing it and repeating what he did with the first guard. The process continued until there were only about fifteen guards left, all of which were high-class knights. They all circled Danny, who stood still and closed his eyes, heightening his senses, hearing the footsteps, and even the sound of their calmed breathing in the situation. Suddenly, one broke their stride. Danny immediately knew where the attack was coming from.

Leaning back, he dodged a spear, which came in from the side, and grabbed the pole, which was in turn swung at his leaned body. Using the leverage, he backflipped himself onto the pole, suddenly having an urge to lean forward, jumping off the spear and turning back to see another one right where his back would've been. Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him, causing him to spin around and catch the blade of a sword between his hands.

The knight grunted in strain as did Danny. The other knights prepared to attack until the knight ordered, "stay your ground!" Danny kept his eyes on his opponents as the others backed off, asking, "why don't you attack when you have the chance. The knight smirked and replied, "I have my reasons." Annoyed with the standoff, Danny twisted his arms ninety degrees with his hands still holding the sword, propped up on his elbows and kicked the knight clean in the jaw.

The knight reeled backwards in pain, clenching his jaw as Danny spun back to his feet, still holding the knight's sword.

As the two stared each other down, the knight smirked and said, "I guess this makes it a fair fight."

"No," Danny said, throwing the sword back at him. The knight, confused, picked up the sword, noticing the glowing purple and white ribbons wrapping around what appeared to be a sword in Danny's hands. The ribbons solidified again as Danny spun his left leg backwards, unsheathing the blade a little as his right hand was ready to draw. Taking a breath, he breathed out, "now its fair." The knight laughed and said, "a sword fight between two elite warriors, how predictable." Danny kept his eyes on the knight as he continued, "but of course, the praise always goes to the knight." Danny's breathing slowed as the knight said, "and under the watchful eye of the queen, I'll never lo-."

Just then, the knight heard the sound of a sword being drawn at high speed. The knight looked to his left and saw the sunlight glinting off the blade of a katana as Danny asked, "so do you want to keep going?" The knight looked back to see Danny and asked himself, _"how did he get there so fast…?"_

Allen clapped and yelled, "bravo!"

The queen smiled as Danny sheathed his sword, letting out a deep breath. Turning around, he looked at Allen, who was still clapping, and the queen, who had summoned a squire and was talking to them. Turning around, he faced the knight again, who had sheathed his sword. The knight shot a glance at him and asked, "what kind of training have you done?"

Danny raised an eyebrow as the knight continued, "no normal human can move at that speed, so I demand to know what kind of training you have done."

"That is special training," a voice boomed, "that takes years and years to complete."

The knights all bowed as did the knight that was turned toward Danny. The queen stood up from her spot and descended the staircase of the raised seats as did Allen, who bowed in respect immediately and said, "it is an honor, King Ameris."

The king was well toned and had his hair finely combed down. Danny looked up at the towering man, estimating that he was about six foot five inches tall. He also had a powerful voice and was well respected and loved by the people. He wasn't only extremely large, though, but he was also very intelligent, knowing difficult sword techniques and wartime strategies, and has kept the country's economy successful for many years. A man fit to be king.

The king looked at Danny and said, "you're quite skilled to be able to defeat such a high ranking knight." The knight flinched as the King looked at him, then back at Danny and said, "the military could use a swordsman like you." Danny looked away, looking back and saying, "I'm sorry, but I don't wish to become a knight." Allen shot up as the king said, "well well, that is a shame."

Standing up, Allen nervously laughed and said, "haha, I'm sorry for interrupting your majesty, but please excuse me and let me talk with Daniel for a moment."

The king looked over at him, looking back to Danny, then the queen, who nodded at him. Sighing, the king replied, "you're excused."

Allen walked over and dragged Danny to a corner where they could talk alone.

"Danny, are you nuts!? You've got to be crazy to say no to the king!"

Danny sighed and said, "then that means that I'm crazy."

Allen groaned and said back, "if you become a knight, they won't be allowed to kill you!"

"Do you think I care whether or not I get killed?" Danny asked him. Allen opened his mouth, but then shut it. Glancing back at the king and queen, Danny continued, "the life of a knight is not the life I need."

Just then, a panicked looking squire ran up to the royal couple.

"Your majesty, the princess has arrived early!"

The king's eyes widened in surprise. The queen brought a hand up to cover her mouth as the squire continued, "the paperwork isn't done yet and the prince has yet to leave his bed chamber!"

Glancing over at them, Danny sighed and said, "if the princess is here, then why don't you just make improvisions?"

The knight that Danny fought before gripped his sword and yelled, "how dare you speak to the king and queen so casually!?"

"Relax, Sir Murton," the king said to him. The knight let out a "tsk" and backed down as the king asked, "then what do you propose?" Danny turned to face them and replied,"show her around the city and prepare the paperwork in the meantime. When she gets back, show her around the castle if the paperwork is not yet finished. That should give you plenty of time." The squires and knights' jaws all hit the ground from Danny's quick thinking as the King smiled and said, "you also are intelligent I see."

Just then, a scream pierced the air. Danny suddenly felt a thick layer of demonic energy cover the area as there was now screaming and yelling. The king turned toward the fountain that led to the castle, seeing black smoke rising. Danny sprinted in the direction, as did Allen, as the king ordered that the knights investigate immediately.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny felt the energy grow thicker the closer he got to the smoke. He was beginning to wonder how strong this demon was until he realized something. It wasn't just a demon at work here; there were humans.

"Allen," Danny asked him, "exactly who is this princess we're talking about?"

Allen caught up and replied, "it's Princess Allister from the neighboring country of Avalene!"

Shooting a glance at Allen, Danny said, "oh yeah, that's smart! Might as well paint a red target on her if you're giving her just one bodyguard!"

Kicking down the front gates, Danny saw a few bodies on the ground as a single demon fought desperately. Drawing his katana, Danny knocked a few enemies down as Allen picked up a spear, knocking a few more out. The demon took off, leaving Danny and Allen by themselves.

"Hey, where are you going!?"

"Forget it," Allen said, knocking another fighter out. Danny tsked as he blocked another attack, spinning around and hitting him in the back with his sword sheath.

Soon the knights appeared and quickly resolved the situation.

Danny and Allen caught their breaths as some city patrols dragged back the demon from before. The king appeared as the guards said, "sire, this demon was spotted running about the city!" The demon struggled against their grip and yelled out, "the princess was kidnapped!"

"Ah, shut your mouth!" One of the guards spat out to him. Danny looked away, feeling anger well up deep within as Allen said, "why don't we take his word for it?"

The knights all looked at Allen, who said, "who knows? Surely you don't see someone who looks like a princess anywhere around here, do you?"

Looking at eachother, the knights then looked at the king, who ordered, "form a search party; we need the princess."

Danny turned back and watched as the knights all scrambled to form groups. He didn't take any action until Allen said, "maybe you should join one of them Danny." Looking at him, Allen continued, "You may be able to get a reward for doing this."

Raising an eyebrow, Danny turned toward Allen and asked, "you just want the money, don't you?"

Allen laughed and said, "it'll help the guild bunches!"

Danny groaned as Allen put on his best puppy impression and replied, "fine fine, I'll do it."

* * *

><p>Standing on the rooftops was a different life for Danny Harada in Ameris City.<p>

With eyes closed, Danny stood still on the roof of a nearby church, scanning the area. He could feel the energy of humans, as well as the well concealed and sporadic energy of demons. However, tracing a single energy signature was a different story. He had to sort each and every individual energy signature and analyze it, which was a most difficult feat to accomplish.

"Still nothing?"

Danny opened his eyes, turning around to see his familiar friend clad in all black and also a katana user, Blaze, who was just finishing up his daily routine of training, as exposed by hisholding his own katana.

Turning away, Danny asked Blaze, "what would the energy of a princess feel like?"

Blaze rose an eyebrow, scratched his head, and answered, "umm...soft, powerful, and different from the rest…?"

Closing his eyes again, Danny concentrated on trying to find the very things that Blaze said.

"_Soft? No, there's plenty of soft signatures in the city. Powerful, the knights are hassel enough. Hmm...wait. What the…?"_

Danny flinched a little as he noticed a faint signature he hadn't felt before. This one was soft and powerful, yet it was different. Too different from others. It was the signature of a demon, but it was stronger than that of a normal demon. To him, it felt like a…

"Double A demon," Danny said aloud, opening his eyes. Blaze shot a glance at him, having looked away as Danny materialized his sword, the ribbons appearing and solidifying into the katana in his left hand.

Looping the sheath onto his waist, Danny turned back to see Blaze drawing his katana to look the blade over, sheathing it and asking, "so are we going to do this or not?"

Danny turned away and said, "let's go.

Looking around the gate of the mansion they that Danny traced from the strange energy signature, Danny spotted a lantern burning on the pathway to the large house.

"Looks like a noble's quarters," Danny said to Blaze, who nodded in turn. Closing his eyes, Danny heard the footsteps of several people, sensing the ever so concealed energy signature of the guards so as to avoid being found. He could also feel the energy signature of the princess.

"_Please...help me…."_

Danny flinched at the voice that had rang in his head. Blaze touched his shoulder, wondering if he was alright. Danny then heard a feminine voice speak to him.

"_They're hurting me...please...help…."_

"She's...talking to me," Danny breathed out. Blaze blinked in confusion as Danny continued, "telepathy...no, wait…!"

Closing his eyes again, Danny sensed distress in the energy blanket, hearing the voice several more times until the energy blanket suddenly disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Blaze asked as Danny flinched violently, gripping his sword and saying, "looks like they've sealed up her demonic energy." Blaze whistled and said, "well, looks like we aren't dealing with your average mercenary here."

"I don't think this is an ordinary mercenary," Danny replied, peeking at through the gate again and continuing, "I think this might be an ex-guildsman."

Blaze whistled again, but was cut short as Danny slapped him and said, "sound off."

Nodding, Blaze watched as Danny snuck around the gate, running up to a tree and hiding behind it as a lantern flashed past.

Danny watched the light go past him, allowing him to creep out of his hiding spot and run the rest of the way to the house, jumping up onto the wall and climbing up as another lantern

flashed past.

"Okay, where are you," Danny whispered to himself, straining a little as he began climbing up the wall, careful not to crawl over the windows. That is, until he caught wind of something interesting. Or rather, what appeared to be voices. Danny climbed up to one of the higher windows, peeking in and seeing someone talking, as well as two guards who were holding halberds.

"...Demand the demons to give us the land of Avalene and change the name of Valkyrie City to Elizabeth City."

Danny continued watching the guards for any signals that he had been seen before a voice that sounded feminine, but a little more mature than the one that was talking to him earlier caught his ear.

"It is not my choice to choose what happens in my country," the voice replied to the earlier booming voice. There was a smack, then a thud on the floor as the man pulled something dark red off the ground. Danny's eyes widened as he saw the face of one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

She looked at the man who was holding her, then noticed Danny looking through the window, reaching a hand toward him and mouthing, "help me."

"Sir, there's someone at the window!"

Danny snapped out of his daze, seeing both the guards running toward the window.

Ducking beneath the glass, he waited until the guards had opened the window, before reaching up and dragging one over. The other backed up as Danny jumped through the open window, his sword in hand and ready to be drawn. The guard sized him up and said, "a child, too easy."

Looking his opponent, Danny caught wind of the man yelling, "STOP!"

Looking through the corner of his eye, Danny saw the man holding the demon girl with a knife to her throat as he said, "one false move, and the princess dies." The demon girl let out small sounds of distress as Danny turned his attention back to the guard, who was looking down on him.

"This had better be good," the guard said, raising his halberd. Danny immediately thought of ways to deflect the attack, only to hear a "thud," then seeing the guard fall down to the ground as Blaze ran up to the man who was holding the demon girl. The man pressed the knife against her neck lightly, yet hard enough to draw blood and said, "not one more step, guildsman."

"Okay, drop it."

The man stiffened up as Danny held his katana blade next to his neck and just below his wrist. The man slowly turned toward Danny, then toward Blaze, slowly letting go of his grip on the demon girl, who immediately ran behind Blaze.

The sound of metal hitting the floor filled the room as the man slowly raised his hands, letting out an annoyed "tch" as Danny withdrew his sword and wrapped the man's around his back with the belt the man had been wearing. Letting out a sigh of relief, Danny walked up to Blaze and the demon girl and asked for her name.

"Claire," the demon answered, "Claire Allister."

"The princess," Blaze said and continued, "mission accomplished."

Danny raised a brow in uncertainty as the young demon said, "thank you for coming to my rescue."

However, Danny looked away and asked her, "are you the only one here?"

Claire shook her head and replied, "no, my sister's still missing."

Then she gasped and said worryingly, "oh no, my sister!"

"Is there something wrong with your sister?" Blaze asked her. Danny shot a glance at Blaze and answered, "Princess, are you a class A demon?"

"Strange how you bring up demon classes now, Danny," Blaze said to him. Danny frowned as he recalled the classes that demons were set up in; levels D through S, with S being the strongest. All the demons in the city were either Bs through Ds, no stronger.

Clair nodded and said, "I think you might have heard my sister's voice, she's the Double A demon."

Danny whistled; a Double A demon is a demon that was stronger than a Level A, but still weaker than a Level S.

Suddenly, an even thicker blanket of demonic energy covered the area again, causing Danny to shiver.

"_Claire, help!"_

Claire ran up to the window, screaming, "ARIA!"

Danny glanced out, seeing several men carrying a girl toward a carriage. Turning to Blaze, he ordered, "Blaze, take Princess Clair to the castle."

Blaze nodded as Danny jumped out the window, disappearing almost immediately after he hit the ground, leaving a little cloud of dust in his wake.


	4. Chapter 4

Panting in exhaustion, Danny continued chasing the carriage to the edge of the city. His legs burned as he kept running, trying to keep up with the carriage as it rode past the gates that were beginning to close. Letting out a groan of annoyance, Danny concentrated his energy to his legs, running even faster than he was before. The gate was just about to close for the night; Danny shut his eyes momentarily, praying for a miracle.

Everything moved in slow motion as Danny held his breath, squeezing through the closing gates and falling down in exhaustion. His lungs were burning and his legs felt like they could give way at any second as he kneeled back up. Catching his breath, Danny looked up to see the carriage going northward. Groaning in annoyance again, he took off again, leaving another cloud of dust in his wake as he continued the pursuit.

Dawn began to break as Danny finally realized where the carriage was heading to.

The northern way castle.

Toward the Bell-Chime City.

Not good; that city had a strict law with demons should any enter its walls.

Gritting his teeth, Danny finally came to the conclusion that he wasn't going to be able to catch up with the carriage by his normal means. Closing his eyes, he focused his energy, feeling it surge throughout his body. However, he wasn't looking for his human energy, but his _demon_ energy. His eyes glazed over with a golden yellow as a snake-like pupil appeared in his normal, human pupil. The pain in his body almost disappeared as his human blood turned almost instantaneously into demon blood.

Taking a breath, Danny increased his speed, catching up with the carriage just enough that he could touch the back wheel. However, he decided that if he was going to stop it, he needed to take out one entire side of the carriage. Taking a longer stride, he appeared in front of the front left wheel, drawing his sword and cutting the front and back wheels.

The carriage fell over as the horses shrieked, sprinting off in a random direction as the driver hit the ground hard. Two bodies fell out of the carriage; a man and a girl that looked like she was around his age.

Danny caught his breath as the girl looked up, their eyes locking for an instance. Danny suddenly felt like he was lightheaded as she layered the area with a thick layer of demonic energy as the man that held her captive quickly recovered, pulling out a knife and grabbing hold of the girl's hair, holding the knife to her throat.

"One move, and she dies, demon!"

Danny winced at the word and said, "well, for one, you have the race wrong."

The man rose an eyebrow, then let out an "umph!" sound as Danny appeared behind him, withdrawing his hand he had used to knock the man out and continued, "and two, I've already moved."

The girl began falling to the ground almost lifelessly. Reaching an arm out, Danny caught hold of her, noticing that her hair wasn't as dark as Clair's, but it was somehow, in a way, much more attractive. She was slightly smaller than him he noted to himself as she looked up to meet his eyes. Danny couldn't help but notice how her scarlet iris sparkled in the now dawning daylight as she quickly looked away and said, "th-thank you…."

"No problem," Danny replied, letting her to stand by herself. The girl looked around, unfamiliar with the surroundings, then back at Danny. She squirmed uncomfortably, then asked, "are you...a demon…?"

Danny winced at the word again, turning away and replying, "well, you're half right."

"Half…?"

"I'm a half-demon to be exact," Danny answered, just realizing his eyes were still glazed over. Letting out a deep breath, Danny closed his eyes, feeling his demonic blood revert back into human blood as his irises changed back into their usual bronze. Looking at the girl again, Danny then asked, "so are you Princess Aria then?"

The girl reluctantly turned toward him and replied, "yes, I am Aria Allister."

Danny blinked a few times, noticing that she hadn't said "princess" with her name. Deciding not to question her, Danny turned away and said, "well, I don't think you would want to go to Bell-Chime City, so let's head toward the Port of Avalon."

Aria turned toward him again as he said, "we'd have a better chance of getting back to Ameris City quicker by sea since we're already this far north."

Turning back to her, Danny noticed that Aria was still squirming uncomfortably. Sighing, he took off his sweater and put it on her, bringing the hood up and saying, "if this will make you feel more secure, then you can have it."

Aria pulled the hood down lower as Danny began to walk in the direction of the ocean, her following close behind.

* * *

><p>Along the way, Aria continued to distract Danny by stopping by the side of the road to pick up flowers or to observe the wildlife. However, he was patient, watching her and envying her liveliness since he never had the luxury to stop in the middle of a mission to observe something that caught his eye. However, he was curious about why she kept her right eye hidden from view.<p>

"_I'll just ask her later,"_ he told himself as she suddenly perked up, running back over and behind him, catching his attention. Looking up, he saw a group of men walking over to him, with the one he presumed to be the leader carrying what looked like an oversized hammer with a head much too wide to properly swing.

"You, boy," the man said to him, "do you know this pretty little lady behind you?"

Looking back at Aria, who pulled the hood down a bit more, he whispered, "did you do something…?"

She buried her head into his back, causing him to sigh and say, "I apologize for her if she's done anything wro-."

"Damn right she did something wrong," one of the lackeys yelled.

Looking back up, Danny eyed the leader as another lackey said, "she denied the boss what he wanted!"

Sighing, Danny turned his head back to her and asked, "okay, what does he want?"

Aria shook her head and muttered, "I don't want to be his woman…!"

Catching his eye, he turned back to the men and sighed out, "I don't think you'd want her to be your woman."

The man with the hammer twitched a little as Danny said, "because you're about to make a mistake if you're asking for my girlfriend."

He grinned, feeling Aria buckle a bit from the comment as the man finally dropped the oversized hammer onto the ground, pulling out a pathetic looking dagger. Danny didn't bother summoning his sword as the man charged.

Turning his body, Danny pulled Aria to the side and leaned over and said, "shall I entertain you with a dance m'lady?"

Aria blushed as Danny suddenly changed into his demon side, tossing her up into the air and turning back human, moving his head to the right and tossing the man over his shoulder, grabbing hold of the dagger and throwing it through the group of lackeys, cutting their belts and causing their pants to fall down.

His eyes widened, Danny slowly turned around and stuck his arms out as Aria came back down with a scream, catching her.

"Sorry about that princess," Danny said to her, feeling her trembling with fear. However, he was caught completely by surprise as she wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed out, "do not...do that...ever again…!"

Danny smiled and replied, "don't worry, I won't."

Aria blushed again as he set her down. Wrapping her arms around his arm, she attempted to turn around, only to be stopped by Danny as he said, "don't turn, you'll be scarred for life."

And she didn't as she heard very high pitched screams.


	5. Chapter 5

"The city is so full of life," Aria commented as they reached the city gates. Among them, humans and demons alike chatted amongst each other as Danny turned toward her and said, "throughout all the kingdom, I think the Port of Avalon is the most lenient and non-segregated city I've ever been to."

"Really?"

Aria gazed up at the towering gate as Danny continued on his way, unaware that she had fallen behind some. Danny heard a little shriek, then a quick apology behind him, then a somewhat stronger voice yelling at her, then quickly changing the subject.

"You know," the voice said, "you are pretty cute. I guess you can repay me in a different way."

Danny turned around and disappeared, reappearing behind Aria and grabbing the man's arm and saying, "sorry, she's with me."

The man appeared to become furious and said, "look buddy, you stay out of this!"

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "why don't you mind your own business instead of trying to bed someone who's someone elses?"

There was a chorus of gasps around them as a vein popped out of the man's head. The man reeled his arm back as Danny pulled Aria behind him, summoning his sword and blocking the punch with the sheath of his sword. Drawing the sword, Danny did a three-sixty spin, landing the blade of the katana just centimeters away from the man's cheek, cutting it ever so slightly. The man gawked in surprise as Danny said, "we're just looking for a ship to Ameris City, so please continue on your business and we'll be on our way."

Aria was trembling with nervousness as Danny pulled back, sheathing his katana and allowing it to dissipate back into ribbons that disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared. Sighing, Danny turned back to the scarlet haired beauty and asked, "so are you alright?" Aria nodded as suddenly a cheer filled the air and people began swarming them.

"Good job boy!"

"Atta teach him a lesson!"

"About time someone stood up to that bully!"

Danny sighed and said, "I just want to get a boat to Ameris City, is there one open?"

Just then, a woman appeared and dragged him and Aria somewhere that they'd be alone before the swarm engulfed them.

"Whew, that was close," the woman said to them. Danny could swear that he had met this woman before; she had jet black hair with a hair clip holding her bangs up, dark purple irises, and a dark purple jacket. It was then he remembered who the woman was.

"Sei-Hyun," Danny said, causing the woman to turn toward him.

"Please don't say my name so casually like that, Harada," the woman named Sei-Hyun shot at him. Danny nodded as she said, "Allen's notified me of the situation; there's a ship that's heading out in about thirty minutes, I suggest you go."

"Thank you," Danny said to the woman. It was then that he noticed how tight of a grip Aria had on his arm.

Turning toward her, he could only see her glowing red iris glowing in the shade of the hood, as well as a golden glow from under her mop of hair over her other eye. She also looked very afraid of something. Danny looked back at Sei-Hyun, who in turn turned toward the direction Aria was facing, seeing a mob of people standing before them, including the man who Aria had bumped into earlier.

The man spat and said, "this is them, boys, get them."

The mob roared as Sei-Hyun sighed and said, "you guys go."

"What?" Danny looked at Sei-Hyun, who replied, "I deal with these guys all the time considering they're always trying to hit on me."

One of the men charged forward with a pitchfork in his hands. Sei-Hyun stuck her hands out, catching the middle prong perfectly and pushing the pitchfork upward, the man's momentum forcing his face to meet Sei-Hyun's fist.

Danny stared wide eyed, picking Aria up and sprinting the opposite direction before the woman was finished with her "massacre" of the mob.


	6. Chapter 6

"You know, you can take that off now."

Aria looked at Danny as he leaned against the railing of the ship they had just boarded. Hesitantly, Aria slid the hood down. It was then that Danny could actually see how beautiful her hair was in broad daylight. It was a bright scarlet red that matched her scarlet red iris. Shaking her head, he was captivated by her hair swaying with each shake until she asked, "is...something wrong?"

Shaking his head, Danny smiled and said, "you've had the hood on for so long I didn't realize just how beautiful you were, princess."

Aria blinked, then blushed, looking away as Danny laughed a little, surprising himself. Danny had been in the guild a long time, and rarely, if ever, did he ever laugh.

"Th-thank you…," Aria replied back, "umm…?"

"Harada. Danny Harada."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Harada."

Nodding, Danny then remembered what he didn't ask her earlier when this little adventure began.

"By the way," he began, "why don't you call yourself 'princess?'"

Danny took note that she flinched a little, looking away ever so slightly. Looking away himself, he took a peek around to see if anyone had heard him, quietly sighing in relief that there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He looked back at her and said, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to-."

"It's because...I'm not just a princess…," Aria said, keeping her gaze away from his. Danny kept his attention on her as she continued.

""My sister's the actual princess that's been chosen to get married. I'm just the one that's tagging along to see if the negotiations are successful, then I'm going back to Avalene to report what happened. If anything, I'm more of a messenger than I am a princess."

Danny nodded, looking away and saying, "at least you have a family to return to."

Aria looked back up at him as Danny told his story.

"My father is Vernon Halevy, ruler of Valkyrie City, which is where I get my demon blood," he said. Aria turned her body to face him, leaning on the railing herself as he continued.

"My mother was originally from Meredith. She was from the Hidden Village of the Blossoms. Her name was Kana Harada."

"I can only vaguely remember her face, but she was died trying to save me. My father didn't do anything and just watched her die."

Aria felt the air thicken a bit as Danny felt the anger inside him rise.

"I can never call that man my father for letting my mother die like that!"

Danny felt his breaking point dangerously close when suddenly, Aria pulled him into a hug. Caught completely by surprise, he almost reacted, but managed to hold himself as Aria said, "but he still is your father."

He began to calm down as Aria continued, "no matter what, I'm positive he's always thinking about you when he thinks about your mother."

Danny felt his heart flutter as she said, "because I know that he loves you, regardless of you being a half-demon or not."

Suddenly, Danny returned the embrace and said, "...thank you...Aria…."

He heard her giggle, causing him to look down to meet her eyes. She smiled, causing him to blush as she said, "you called me by my name."

Smiling back, their moment was ruined by the sound of the captain saying, "A STORM'S COMIN'!"

Danny snapped back and looked around, seeing the clouds grow ominously dark. Looking down at Aria, who was holding onto him for dear life as the waves suddenly became rougher.

Men scrambled about the deck as Danny dragged her down to the quarters below.

"Danny, don't-!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Danny replied to her, giving her a reassuring smile and taking off back to the deck. However, he was stopped at the door as Aria held a beautiful white sheath and handled katana to him.

"Take this," she said to him.

Holding the sword, Danny closed his eyes, syncing his energy with hers, feeling the power of the Double A course through his veins as they synced their energy. The sword turned into ribbons, which were bright orange-red as opposed to bright purple, which dissipated into the air as Danny opened his eyes again, smiling and replying, "thanks Aria."

On deck, men scrambled about, pulling the sails back in and screaming at each other as Danny struggled to keep his footing. Suddenly, he got tackled to the ground by crewmen who were running about on the deck, landing hard on the wood.

His bandaging became soaked in rainwater as he got back up, rushing to help men pull the sails back up.

"PULL MEN! PULL!"

Danny groaned as the sails struggled to go up in the wind, pulling with all his might along with the men. Suddenly, someone shouted, "SEA SERPENT!"

Danny looked back, jumping out of the way as a large snake-like head with a finned frill around the base of the head snatched up some of the men who were pulling the line, pulling the sail up all the way.

Summoning his katana, Danny shouted, "GET THE SAIL UP, I'LL HOLD IT OFF!"

More men scrambled to grab the wildly whipping rope as Danny focused all his energy in his legs, jumping off the deck and drawing his sword as he reached the head of the beast. However, he hadn't accounted for the agility of the beast.

Danny slashed, missing as the beast moved to his left, jaws opening menacingly. He felt like the world was in slow motion as the jaws of death slowly came down on him. He braced himself for the intense amount of pain he was about to feel as the teeth of the beast came down.

Suddenly, the beast's head flew sideways, letting out a shriek of pain as Danny managed to flip himself in the air and land on his feet on the ship as he looked up and saw ominous golden eyes, as well as hair as dark as his own. His heart ached for a moment as he recognized the face immediately. He sheathed his sword as the demon landed on the ship as well, immediately turning toward him and saying to him, "well, I never expected to see **you** here."

"Do you think I was expecting it as well?"

Danny looked away from the demon as he said, "you're sixteen and you still can't even keep yourself from getting eaten by a sea serpent."

"Shut up," Danny replied as the demon continued, "you truly must want to be a human if you can't defeat this creature, son."

Danny's anger showed as his eyes glazed over gold, the moist bandaging ripping apart as the sudden blast of demonic energy covered the area.

"Don't call me 'son,' Vernon," Danny told the demon. The demon, Danny's father, Vernon, spat and said, "don't start cursing me now."

Looking back at the serpent, Danny jumped as the beast drove its head toward them, right to Vernon. The demon smirked, letting out a yell and punching the beast's nose, skidding to a hard stop as he was just inches away from the now railless side of the ship. He grunted, punching it backwards with his other hand and pushing it back some distance before smirking again.

Letting out a battle cry, Danny fell from the darkened sky, stabbing his sword into the forehead of the beast, which flailed wildly. Holding on for dear life, Danny dislodged the sword, jumping off the serpent as Vernon whizzed past him, punching the beast hard enough to penetrate past its hard scales. Blood flew onto the deck as Vernon pressed his opposite hand against the scales, recalling ancient words that formed a spell circle where his hand was placed, releasing an explosion. The sea serpent flailed about again as Vernon's feet touched the deck, him landing on his knee.

"This thing is tough," Vernon stated as Danny prepared himself for the worst as the serpent's eyes began to shine. Thunder cracked around them as the serpent lunged for them. The two jumped out of the way as the head of the beast broke through the upper deck, leaving a large hole in it.

Casting another spell, Vernon released a huge ball of fire from his spell circle, hitting the beast's left eye. However, this did not falter the serpent as it swung around and opened its jaws at the demon. Vernon cursed to himself as the jaws closed in on him until suddenly, Danny appeared and slashed the same eye, leaving blood to fly about, causing the creature to wail.

Landing on the deck, Danny looked up as the beast roared. He prepared for the worst until he heard, "FIRE!"

The sound of a cannon filled the air as the right side of the beast's immense neck and body exploded, bits of scale and leviathan blood flying about. Turning, he saw the captain of the ship with several crewmen loading up another cannon as he ordered them to fire again. The next shot whizzed past the beast's head as it turned toward them, opening its jaws and lunging at them. The men stood paralyzed and afraid as they watched the jaws of death approach them.

Suddenly, both Danny and Vernon appeared in front of the beast, using their inhuman strength to hold it back as the captain and the crew stared in awe. Danny grunted and yelled, "what are you doing!?"

"Now's your chance to fire!" Vernon yelled afterwards. The captain shook his head clear, ordering the crew to get their heads back and loading up the cannon once again.

Father and son alike grunted from the strain as the captain finally yelled, "FIRE!"

The serpent's head went up into explosions as it reeled back, roaring in pain. Danny and Vernon hit their knees in exhaustion as crewmen ran up to them, checking if they were okay. Vernon looked back up and said, "it's not over yet!"

The sea serpent rolled back up again, coiling as if to deliver the finishing blow as it would to its normal prey at the depths of the ocean.

Danny stood back up, his legs wobbling as he held his katana out in front of him. Vernon looked at him and said, "don't be stupid Danny, we can't win this!"

However, Danny had something else on his mind. When he had synced with Aria's sword, he felt something that wasn't there in his body before. Something stronger than his normal demon self.

Focusing his demonic energy, Danny's eyes slowly glazed over to a scarlet red, his fangs sharpening up some as what remained of his short sleeved shirt and sweater ripped and dissipated into thin air. Letting out a grunt, he covered the area in a thicker layer of demonic energy as the serpent lunged at them again.

"DANNY WATCHOUT!"

Danny looked up, reeled back, and stabbed his sword into the creature's nose. He skidded back some distance as the beast continued pushing him back further and further until he was just inches to the edge. Grunting, he stuck his other hand out to the side, focusing his energy and forming the katana Aria had given him without the sheath, slashing his first katana out of the nose and following up with the second katana, hitting just slightly under it, spinning and slashing it again with the first.

The serpent reeled back as Danny jumped from his spot, pulling the katanas over his shoulders and slashing down on its head, leaving two large gashes on it, flipping in the air and readjusting his grip on the swords, stabbing downward to the forehead; the same spot he had stabbed before. This time, however, he pulled one sword back, yelled, and slashed down to the nose, flooding the attack with his own demonic energy, causing an indigo blue light to travel down and spew blood.

Blood rained down as the beast cried out in pain, its body sinking back down into the depths as it hit the surface of the water much like a ragdoll. Danny jumped off, hitting the deck of the ship with a painful sounding "THUD" as the two katanas landed on either side of him. His eyes glazed back to their normal shade of bronze as he panted from exhaustion, his demon blood slowly changing back into human blood. All he saw and heard was the footsteps of Vernon and the crew before his vision blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny gasped as his eyes shot open.

Attempting to sit up, his body argued against him as it ached in pain.

"I would take it easy if I were you," a very familiar voice said to him.

Turning his head, Danny saw Vernon sitting with Aria, who was holding his hand and sobbing. She lunged at him as Vernon said, "your body couldn't handle the strain that you had put on it."

Petting her head, he looked down at her, then back at Vernon and asked, "you could've killed me but you didn't. Why?"

Vernon stood up, looking away, then back at him and replied, "...I have obligations as your father as well, son."

Danny jerked forward, only to stop dead in his tracks as pain surged through his body again, also with Aria holding him down. Vernon let out a sigh and said, "your mother didn't want it to be this way."

Danny didn't even bother shooting forward with Aria's weight on him, as well as his aching body telling him not to move. Vernon continued.

"When I met her, neither I nor she cared that we were human or demon. She was traveling through Avalene after coming back from a distant land and I was out doing my patrol when I came across a carriage that had been destroyed. It turns out that your mother did it, so I pursued her until the day I caught up to her at Riverbend Point."

Danny looked away and said, "I've already heard of this story."

"But you were never told of the part where she half-killed me," Vernon said almost immediately. Danny turned back as Vernon continued the story.

"Anyway, I lay on the ground, blood pouring out as she walked over and asked who I was. Of course, I answered her as a king would answer and punched her in the face, only to regret my decision seconds later as she would pummel me even more."

Vernon laughed as did Aria. Danny stared at his father, cracking a little smile as he continued.

"And so she told me that there had been a rogue demon that had been stealing a large number of supplies from the Port of Avalon, so I decided to investigate with her."

Aria's eyes brightened as she asked, "so did you two fall in love along the way?"

Vernon chuckled to himself and replied, "oh, little phoenix, you're completely wrong."

Danny looked at Vernon after he said "phoenix," but ignored it as he continued, "anyway, so after we caught the culprit, which I later learned was the son of the Avalene commander, she asked me whether or not I cared about her being a human or a demon."

"I was confused at first, not knowing how to answer until just a few weeks later, when she had returned to Avalene. I answered her by saying, 'I care not whether you're a human or a demon,' and was replied by with another punch to the face."

Danny chuckled a little as did Aria as Vernon continued.

"And so, she stayed with me for some time before I noticed that she hadn't returned for a mission. So one day, I asked her straight out, 'why did you come back?' She simply smiled at me and said those three magical words."

"I love you," Aria worded with her lips. Danny felt his heart skip a beat when Aria hadworded the words as Vernon said, "love is stronger than any magic or sword art, Danny. Your mother sacrificed her life because she loved you. Use the love others have for you, and you will always be strong."

Closing his eyes, Danny felt the energies of Allen and Blaze in him. However, there wasn't just two, but several more. People he had met, as well as those all around him. Opening his eyes, he said, "...thank you...father…."

Vernon raised an eyebrow, then smiled and said, "you're welcome son."

Aria sighed with content. She was happy that Danny and Vernon were on good terms after Danny had hated him for so long. Closing her eyes, she remembered her own sister, Claire, and her mother and father, that were surely still waiting for her back at Ameris City.

"By the way," Danny asked Aria, who turned to face him, "why did he call you 'little phoenix?'"

Aria blinked a few times at him before brushing away the mop of hair hiding her right eye. Danny's eyes widened as it revealed a demonic gold iris. Brushing the hair back down, she answered, "phoenix demons are different from regular demons due to their being a Double A demon."

"Different…," Danny repeated, then asked, "is that why you don't call yourself 'princess?'"

Aria hesitated for a moment, then replied, "...yes…because in a way...I'm more important than a princess."

"It's true," Vernon said, walking back into the cabin. Turning toward him, Danny noticed the food tray first as Vernon said, "phoenix demons are rare you know."

Opening the lid, Danny's mouth watered at the sight of the cooked lobster. However, Vernon caught his attention by saying, "then again, so are half-demons."

There was silence until the sound crunching shell filled the room. Vernon and Aria looked at eachother, then at Danny, who was happily eating away at the lobster, causing both of them to laugh.


	8. Chapter 8

"Sorry for the detour, but we have to stop at Port Tipa for a quick repair. She took quite a beating with that leviathan."

The captain scratched the back of his head as Vernon shook his head and said, "it isn't a problem, we can wait."

Danny was staring off in the distance at a cloud of pink as Aria walked up to him and poked his cheek, catching his attention. Turning towards her, Aria asked her, "what'cha looking at?"

Turning around, Danny pointed at the pink cloud in the distance. Aria looked at the same direction as Danny said, "the Forest of Blossoms."

Vernon walked over and said, "you're free to go if you want."

Danny turned around as he continued, "besides, I think you might want to go."

Looking back at the cloud, which in reality were trees, Danny took a quick glance at Aria, then back at the trees and said, "yeah, I guess I'll go."

"Danny," Aria said, catching his attention. Turning around, he was met with a kiss on the cheek as Aria said, "please be careful."

Blushing, Danny nodded, then began his journey to and through the forest.

The thick smell of cherry blossoms filled the air as Danny traveled through vaguely familiar territory. He fuzzily remembered the area; his mother would take him here every now and then to greet family members that lived in the village, which were the vast majority save for the tourists.

Gateways lined up in front of him as he took a deep breath, walking through them one by one as a gate came into sight. In front of the gate stood two guards dressed like samurai, who immediately took notice of Danny.

"HALT!" Cried one of the guards, causing both of them to reach for their katanas. Danny passed the final gateway and stood as the guard asked, "what business do you have here?"

"I'm here to see some relatives," Danny replied, "they should know I'm here by now."

The guards looked at each other as a voice from the other side of the gate said, "and you'd be a fool if you think I would forget that voice."

The gates to the village opened as the guards quickly scrambled to the side. A woman with long hair tied into a ponytail that reached past her waist came past and said, "he _is_ my nephew after all."

"Lady Chidori," one of the guards said as the woman walked up to Danny and said, "you've grown taller."

Danny smiled at her and said, "a lot of things can change in ten years."

The woman, Chidori, smiled at him and brought him into a hug. The guards were taken by surprise as she said, "you're mother would be so proud of you."

Closing his eyes, Danny felt the familiarity of his mother's twin sister, which the embrace was exactly like hers. Returning the embrace, Danny said, "its been so long since I've been here."

Pulling away, Chidori said, "please, stay the night Danny."

"Thanks for the offer, but I must decline," Danny said and continued, "there are otherthings I must do."

Chidori sighed and said, "very well, but please have a look around; much has changed since you've last been here."

Just then, Danny heard footsteps racing toward them from within the village.

Chidori stepped aside in time for Danny to get tackled to the ground by a very familiar face.

"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!?"

The girl who had tackled him began hammering at his chest as she screamed, "DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN FOR THE PAST FREAKING DECADE!?"

Danny smiled and replied, "I missed you too Hinata."

Hinata was his cousin, as well his childhood playmate. The girl looked almost impossibly identical to her mother that if they were the same height, they would be mistakened as twins.

Hinata looked up with tears in her eyes as she said, "great, now you've made me cry."

Standing back up, Danny helped Hinata back to her feet and said, "I guess this is the end of my little field trip."

The two looked up at him as he continued, "there's someone that I'm escorting back to Ameris City, and we only came to Meredith because the ship we were on was attacked by a sea serpent."

"I'll be back soon though," Danny quickly put in as Hinata put up a pouting face. Chidori pulled her daughter back and said, "I wish you a safe journey then, Danny."

Danny bowed, turning around and walking back. However, he felt his heart ache again, making him turn around, only to see Chidori and Hinata. Shaking it off as nothing, he continued on his way back to Port Tipa.

Chidori watched her nephew go off and asked, "so you didn't want to say anything to him?"

A woman who looked exactly like her appeared from behind her and said, "if he were to see me now, then I'd be extending the length of this ridiculous war."

Chidori turned back to the woman and, who was a spitting image of her.

"Kana…."

"It's up to his heart now. He's the master of his own fate after all."

* * *

><p>Upon arriving back at the port, Danny noticed Aria by herself. Walking up to her, he asked her where his father had gone.<p>

"He said that he was talking with someone," she replied back.

Just then, Vernon appeared behind them, causing Danny to turn around as he said, "are we ready to go?"

Danny nodded, as did Aria. Vernon nodded himself and said, "then we shall be off!"

Blaze sat in the castle, waiting impatiently as the king continued his negotiations with the vice lord of Avalene, Lord Allister. Allen was also in the room to make sure that no fight would break out between the two should the two have a serious argument that got out of hand.

Tapping at his sword hilt, he noticed a presence take the seat next to him. Turning his head, he saw the princess, Claire, taking the seat next to him.

"Hello," she said to him with a small smile of nervousness on her face. Blaze smiled at her, set his katana aside and asked, "why so nervous, your majesty?"

Princess Claire looked at the door, then back at Blaze and said, "thank you for saving me again."

Blaze smiled and replied, "don't worry about it, all in a hard day's work."

Claire smiled and said, "maybe...I should reward you…?"

Blaze shook his head and replied, "there's no need to do that."

However, Claire smiled, leaning toward him and pecking his cheek, pulling away and saying, "it's disrespectful to not reward a brave warrior like yourself."

Blaze blushed, looking away and smiling sheepishly and saying to her, "and I said you didn't have to reward me."

Clair kept her smile and leaned toward him again, turning his face and pecking at his lips, surprising him. Grinning, she pushed him against the wall he was sitting up against, mashing her lips to his, briefly pulling back and saying, "talks won't finish until my sister returns."

Blaze swallowed down some spit and asked, "so why don't we go looking for them?"

The princess shook her head and replied, "there's no need to since you're friend is bound to return soon, right?"

Feeling her lips against his again, Blaze gave in and thought to himself, _"Danny, get back soon."_

* * *

><p>"Danny."<p>

Breaking out of his daydream, Danny turned toward Aria, who was walking up to him with a cup of water in her hands. Taking the cup she handed him, he heard her ask, "why are you a member of the mercenary guild?"

Taking a glance at her, he stopped his sipping and answered, "because there wasn't really much I could do."

"Danny was abandoned shortly after his mother died," Vernon said, coming over from talking with the captain. Danny built off of what his father said.

"Allen found me shortly after and I was raised by one of the guild member's generals."

"And what if that general happens to be on the same ship?"

Turning to his left, he saw the same general he considered his sister.

"General Krystal," he said in surprise.

The woman walked up to him and punched him halfway across the deck and yelled, "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU IT WAS 'BIG SISTER!'"

Vernon and Aria stared in awe as Danny got back to his feet, walking back to them and sighing.

"Father, Aria, this is Ge-," Krystal shot a glare back at Danny, "this is Krystal, the person who raised me."

The woman had a very light blue highlight in her brunette hair that shined as she bowed in respect to Vernon and Aria, who bowed back. Danny looked around and asked, "speaking ofwhich, where's general Chaos?"

"...I've been here the whole time Harada…."

Danny turned around to see a man with a sash around his neck leaning up against the captain's cabin with his arms crossed. The man also had blue highlights, though his were darker than Krystal's, and had deep cobalt irises that matched. He was more conservative than the other general and tended to be quiet until things got out of hand.

Chaos then looked up at them, pointing his finger up. Danny followed the direction, seeing the one general he wasn't expecting to see. The head of the generals.

General Vance.

His hair was a red-orange color and was about long enough to reach the beginning of his back. He also carried an absurdly large sword that Danny wondered how anyone would manage to use with two hands, let alone one.

The head general smiled down at him and said, "you've grown, Danny."

Danny smiled back and replied, "and I see you're still using that absurdly large sword of yours."

Vance then took a glance at Vernon, jumping down and walking up to him and saying, "its been a long time, my friend."

Sticking his hand out, Vernon took and shook it and laughed, "it has been, old friend."

The two began to chit chat as Aria nervously clung onto Danny's arm. Krystal grinned and asked him, "so when did you get a girlfriend?"

Danny blushed and yelled, "she's not my girlfriend!"

Aria, being as innocent as she was, had no idea what the two were arguing about as Chaos walked over and said, "...they're always like that, don't worry…."

Turning her head to him, he explained, "my sister is as blunt as an old knife."

Turning back to them, a cloud of dust actually appeared from where Danny had jumped at Krystal, disappearing several moments later to reveal him on the ground, tapping the deck as hard as he could with Krystal trying to pull his leg back as far as it could go.

Laughing a little, Aria walked over as Krystal got off of him, clapping her hands clean. Danny sighed, only to look up and see Aria smiling down at him as she asked, "are you okay?"

Nodding, Danny got back to his feet, getting a little help from Aria. Unbeknownst to him, he suddenly felt someone push him right into Aria, who was caught off guard. The two tumbled to the ground, Danny landing on top of Aria in a precarious position.

"Oww…," Danny said to himself, opening his eyes to see her scarlet iris staring right into his eyes.

Blushing a little, Danny stood back up, helping her back onto her feet. Both shot glances at each other, looking away just as quickly, blushing as they heard the sound of laughter coming from Krystal, Vernon, and Vance. Only a slight chuckle was heard from Chaos, who lightly smiled from the little act. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder, turning to see a mop of scarlet red leaning up against him. He dared not to look Aria in the eye as did she to him.


	9. Chapter 9

"AMERIS CITY IN SIGHT!"

Danny looked up upon hearing the creman up on the main mast. Looking up, he could see the port of the city he had grown up in. He attempted to make a move to go up to the bow of the ship, only to feel something weighing his shoulder down. Looking to his left, he saw a mop of scarlet red, quietly inhaling and exhaling. Smiling, Danny nudged her awake, Aria blinking several times as he said, "we're back at Ameris City."

Sitting upright, Aria rubbed her eyes, reaching under the hair covering her right eye as Danny stood up, stretching. Turning his head to the starboard side of the ship, he noticed Vance and his father still talking about their adventures with Chaos ignoring Krystal's ranting on the other side of the deck.

Helping her up to her feet, he couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen when they made it back to the castle. How the talks would go, whether a marriage would suffice a treaty of this war, how he was going to say goodbye to Aria.

"_Oh god, saying goodbye to…."_

Danny looked at the girl from the corner of his eye as she stretched, sighed, and yawned, flicking the hair covering her demonic right eye for an instance to the side and looking at him herself, grinning at him. Danny shot a smile back in return, looking back at the city with a serious face.

* * *

><p>Blaze perked up, feeling a very familiar mix of human and demon energy approaching them. This energy, though, seemed different from Danny's mix of human and demon energy; it seemed much stronger. However, it held the same familiarity as Danny's energy.<p>

"That energy…!"

Blaze turned his attention to princess Claire, who was running toward him. Stopping in front of him, she caught her breath and said, "I know that energy from anywhere, it's my sister!"

Standing up, he now knew that the energy had to be Danny's energy. There was no mistaking it as he began to leave when Claire stopped him and said, "take me with you."

Aria spun around as Danny, Vernon, and the generals followed them to the castle. Aria smiled back at Danny, making his heart leap as she ran back to him and said, "thank you for staying with me all this time."

Hugging him, Danny returned the embrace as a voice suddenly asked him, _"so do you want to be with her?"_

Turning around, he saw Vernon and the generals smirking at them as he slightly nodded. Vernon lightly laughed and said,_ "you __**are**__ my son, so I think I could work something out."_

This time, though, Danny shook his head and tested what he thought was telepathy by forming thoughts out of demonic energy and shooting a concentrated beam at Vernon, who flinched in surprise.

"_Now's not the time to be thinking like that,"_ he said back, pulling her tighter against him, getting a gasp of surprise from her. He received an even tighter hug in return, feeling his heart flutter at the feeling of returned warmth. He could feel Aria bury her face in his chest as she said, "thank you for accompanying me."

"No problem," Danny replied, patting her head. Suddenly, he heard Vernon say, _"and we need to work on your manners, too."_ Everyone laughed, letting Danny know he sent that to the generals as well. Cursing under his breath, he shot a glare at Vernon, who closed his eyes, smiling at them as Aria dragged him toward the castle.

* * *

><p>"Clair!"<p>

"Aria!"

The two princesses embraced each other as Blaze walked over and shook Danny's hand, bumping his shoulder against his and saying, "boy, am I glad to see you."

Danny smiled back in reply as Vernon came over and asked, "are you Blaze?"

Blaze looked at the man and nodded. Vernon stuck his hand out and said, "My name is Vernon; I'm Danny's father." Sticking his hand out, Blaze shook hands with Vernon, only to feel time freeze and hearing Vernon say, _"I see why he looks so highly of you; you're an adept swordsman and the only one who spoke to him when he became a guildsman."_

Shaking his head, Blaze looked up to see golden eyes, flinching in surprise as Danny touched his shoulder and said, "he won't hurt anyone." It was then that Danny realized Vernon was _inside_ the castle with them. Looking at his father, Danny asked, "now that I think about it, why are you here anyway?"

Vernon looked away and said, "it's easier if I'm physically here instead of having the Allisters come and report how the meeting went."

"Ah, I see," Danny said back, turning back toward the two sisters. Aria shot a glance back at Danny, their eyes locking for an instant, both turning away at the same time. Blaze caught wind of the action and said, "hmm, got a crush for the little one with the bright red?"

Punching Blaze in the face, Danny walked up to the conference chamber door and knocked, receiving an "enter" from the other side. Opening the door, Danny, Vernon, Blaze, the princesses, and the generals entered. Allen, who was standing on the other side of the room between the two negotiators, smiled as the generals each took their own corner. Vernon walked over to the spot where the man Danny presumed to be Aria's father sat, thanking him. The man said something back and stood up for Vernon, who took the seat. Aria and Claire walked over to where the demons were standing as the king looked back at Danny and Blaze, who bowed in respect and stood guard in front of the chamber doors.

"Now then," the king said, "may we continue negotiations?"

"Yes," Vernon replied, "I am Vernon Halevy, the lord of Valkyrie city, and also the man who controls Avalene."

"So the demon king shows up himself," King Ameris stated. Vernon shot back and said, "I do not consider myself a king. Further more, let us continued these negotiations."

"Very well," King Ameris said, tapping a pile of papers down to straighten them and continued, "now, Lord Allister was just saying that a marriage would suffice the treaty."

Danny winced a little. Blaze shot a glance at him as Danny held in his emotions, looking up to Aria, who was diligently paying attention to King Ameris.

"Yes, I believe it would," Vernon agreed. Danny felt a pang of heat shoot through his chest, but still managed to hold it in.

Vernon was about to say something else until the doors suddenly flew open, sending Blaze and Danny flying forward as a young man in about his early twenties entered and said, "the prince has arrived!"

The king groaned as the prince waltzed up to him, taking a seat next to him. Krystal's mouth was agape while Vernon stared at the boy, clearly annoyed and said, "I see no reason to be barging in and treating my son in such a way."

Danny stood back up as the king said, "ah, the one with the dark hair I presume?"

Vernon nodded as Danny went back to close the chamber doors, only to hear a "father, which of the two am I marrying!?"

Danny twitched as the doors shut themselves as Vernon stated, "on second thought, I don't think this marriage treaty is not going to work."

King Ameris sighed and replied, "unfortunately, I must agree."

The prince looked around as Aria shot a glance back at Danny, who sighed and made his way back to Blaze. Out of pure luck, the prince caught wind of the glance she took and stood up, pointing to Danny.

"You there!"

Danny turned to him.

"I challenge you!"

"For what?"

Everyone, minus King Ameris, Vernon, and Lord Allister, and Aria, all hit the ground as the prince declared, "for the right of marriage to the fair maiden with the long hair over her eye!"

Danny stared unimpressed, looked over at Allen, who shrugged in response, then at Vernon, who nodded. Danny sighed out, "if I have too, fine."


	10. Chapter 10

"Be careful Danny," Allen said to Danny, who slipped on a sleeveless sweater and summoned one katana right away. Aria walked up to him and hugged him, saying, "yes, please be careful."

"I'm going to need to be anyway," Danny stated as she let go of him and continued, "he's the kind of coward who finds the strongest of warriors to do his dirty work."

Just then, Blaze entered the room and said, "take my sword then."

Danny watched as he stuck the katana out to him, shaking his head and saying, "I won't have any need for it."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Blaze watched his friend walk out to the stadium which Danny and his opponent would be fighting in, feeling something snake around his arm. Looking down, he saw Claire looking up at him. Claire leaned against him and said, "just believe in him."

"After all, it is love that drives on a human's fighting spirit."

Everyone turned around to see a woman with a waist long ponytail walking toward them. Allen smiled and said, "I also hope he doesn't lose either, Chidori."

The woman smiled and said, "I don't ever remember becoming my sister, Allen."

* * *

><p>The crowd roared as Danny opened his eyes, the gates opening for him. Walking out to the arena, he looked around to see the thousands of people roaring, as well as Vernon, Lord Allister, and the King and Queen watching dutifully. What also caught his eye was the fact that the Prince was up there with them.<p>

Shooting a glare up at him, Danny watched as the prince raised his hand. The opposite gate opened up as his opponent walked up to him, standing barely three meters away. The man was well toned, had bright brown hair, green eyes, and was holding a sword with a five-foot blade with a one-and-a-half foot handle.

"_Six-and-a-half foot reach,"_ Danny thought to himself as the man bowed, surprising him.

"I am William Reingold, it is an honor to be fighting against you."

Danny bowed back and replied, "I am Danny Harada, it is also an honor to be fighting you."

Up in the stands, Blaze gasped at the sight of the man's sword.

"Is something the matter Blaze," General Vance asked him. Blaze, however, didn't answer and pointed to the man's sword. Vance looked down and studied it, his eyes widening in surprise.

"That's th-!?"

"Mystic Sword-Harmony."

The generals and Blaze turned toward the woman from before as she stated, "originally created by the Harada family as a gift to the royal family in Meridian City, the sword has a unique trait that allows the user to create manifested slashes out of thin air."

Danny took his stance, taking in a deep breath and letting it out, waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

William raised the sword over his head, yelling as he slashed it downward, releasing a green light that charged toward Danny.

Judging the speed of the manifested slash, Dann sidestepped the attack an instantbefore it reached him. Taking the opportunity, Danny sprinted at lightning speed at his opponent, sword ready to be drawn.

"However."

Danny drew his katana, grazing off a bit of chainmail as the man jumped backwards, avoiding the attack and slashing thin air horizontally. Danny immediately realized what the man did and sidestepped, only to get a little cut on his left cheek. Blood dripped down his cheek as Danny finally remembered what was so significant of that sword.

"It also has the ability to compress wind with each slash, allowing it the user to manifest a slash that way, which is why the royal family returned it," the woman finished.

"Mystic Sword-Harmony, huh," Danny said to the man. William smirked, nodding and raising his sword, charging up another manifested slash. Danny disappeared, reappearing behind him, katana sheathed and ready to be drawn. However, William smirked at him again, spinning around and slashing upward and around, sending the blast right to him. Danny sidestepped, the blast of the slash flying past him as he charged again, seeing the man slash at him again. Danny disappeared again, reappearing behind him again and drawing the katana, only feel something go through his body. Skidding to a stop, blood shot out of a cut that went down his right shoulder, covering the area he was standing in. Danny gasped as William smirked and said, "you underestimate my agility."

Catching his breath, Danny spat out blood and looked up at the man, sheathing his sword and setting himself up for another attack.

"_Slow down Danny, slow down,"_ Danny thought to himself, focusing on the bloodied sword that William was holding. William raised the sword again and slashed, the blast seemingly much stronger than the last two. Danny swung with his sword still sheathed, feeling the sheath absorb the energy, spinning around and drawing the katana, feeling the energy travel the length of the blade, releasing the blast right back at him. William looked shocked as Blaze clenched his right hand into a fist and said, "he got him!"

William raised the sword, slashing doward right before the blast got to him, splitting it in two. The crowd gasped as William smirked. Danny sheathed his katana again unfazed by the display of strength as William said, "you cannot defeat me, Danny Harada."

Gritting his teeth, Danny took off again, as did William. Flashes of light lit the arena space as the two fought at high speed. Many people followed the lights while Blaze and the generals closed their eyes, listening to the clangs of metal as they met in the middle, pushing against eachother. Both reappeared at the center of the stadium, grunting as they struggled for control, Danny clearly being at a disadvantage with him being younger than the grown man.

William gave a maniacal grin and said, "well, this is the most fun I've had in a while."

Suddenly, William disappeared, causing Danny to fall over slightly, losing his balance. Something cut his right arm, then his left shoulder as he finally regained balance.

Aria looked away as Claire brought her into her arms as Danny grunted in pain, turning around to see William with his sword over his head again. Claire brought her head closer to Aria's still looking at the arena, saying, "its alright Aria, he's going to win." However, she could hear her sister muttering something above the roaring crowd.

"Oh...please lord...I...ove hi…."

Claire's eyes widened as the crowd roared again, blocking out the rest of Aria's sentence.

Danny drew his sword, deflecting a slash, slashing away another, then another, then another as William laughed maniacally, continuing his barrage of manifested slashes. Danny continued deflecting the entourage until William suddenly fired a wind slash at him. Danny leaned backwards, seeing the wind cut off the tip of his bangs, jumping back up and running sideways as William continued with his assault.

Blaze shut his eyes, clenching his two hands together and began praying as Allen did the same.

Vernon, who was sitting with the king and queen and prince with the Allisters, sat impatiently and asked the king, "were you the one who hired him?"

The king shook his head and said, "I much rather would've prefered to see a battle between the two, not this." Looking at the prince, Vernon glared at the boy and closed his eyes, the adrenaline running through his veins in excitement as he watched his son on the losing end of the fight.

Danny's knees hit the ground, only to leave it as Danny looked up, jumping out of the way of another energy slash. Landing on the ground again, Danny heard William laugh, then ask, "need a break!?"

Grunting, he rolled out of the way as a wind slash raced past him. Gasping for breath, Danny observed as William raised the sword yet again, preparing for another attack. It was there that Danny realized the weakness.

William screamed, letting loose the energy slash yet again.

Danny continued dodging the assault as the man let loose a wind slash. Danny watched as a small stream of wind raced toward him. Suddenly, when the stream reached him, he vanished, leaving only the katana. The crowd gasped as William's smirk was wiped off his face. The man looked around as Vernon smirked and said, "that's my boy."

Letting out a scream of annoyance, Danny appeared behind William with the white katana in hand. William turned to block the attack, only to underestimate the force Danny put behind his draw slash, sending him flying backwards toward the previous katana. Suddenly, Danny appeared at the katana, kicking William up into the air, jumping up with him. The man turned around, eyes widening as Danny slashed at him, blocking the attack. However, he hadn't accounted for the second katana as Danny swung the second, barely grazing the man's bangs as he leaned his head backwards.

Pulling the sword back, William screamed, mustering all the force he could, sending Danny back to the earth in one bone crushing slash. On his own way back to the ground, William fired more energy slashes, then the final wind slash as Danny hit the ground. Dust filled the arena as William landed on the ground, panting. Walking over, he observed the area where his slashes had left a crater, leaving not a trace of anything behind except for Danny's regular katana.

The crowd, silent, watched in awe at the awesome display of power. The prince cheered at the top of his lungs as the Allisters, Blaze, and the Generals all looked away. However, Vernon didn't faze and asked Aria, "why do you look away, young phoenix?"

Aria looked up as he continued, "the battle is now over."

Looking down, Aria couldn't see anything but the crater, the katana, and William. It was then it hit her that Danny had summoned her katana as well. If his katana could survive the attack, then hers should've as well!

"Doesn't he just amaze you, Vernon?"

The demon jumped in his seat, turning around to see someone he knew very well. The king and queen both turned around as Vernon said, "King Ameris, Queen Archangel, I'd like you to meet my wife."

The woman walked up behind Vernon's seat and said, "my name is Kana Harada, mother of Danny and wife of Vernon."

Aria looked up at the woman, who turned to Aria and walked over to her, pulling her up to her feet.

"Do you know why," Kana asked, "Danny didn't lose this battle?"

Aria shook her head. Kana smiled and answered, "because of the love everyone has for him, especially you."

William looked up and said to himself, "ah...finally over…."

Suddenly, he felt something wasn't right.

Danny appeared behind William.

"RAAAH!"

Danny slashed downward at the man. Blood flew from William as he hit the ground. Danny panted as his eyes changed from glazed red to his original bronze.

William gasped for air as Danny walked over to his head, standing over him. William grinned and said, "kill me and take your victory."

Picking up William's sword, Danny stabbed it downward. The crowd watched as Danny said, "I don't do the taking of lives as much as they say I have to."

Taking his hand off the sword, Danny went into the crater and picked up his sword, turning around and saying, "'live and let live' as they say, right?"

Danny sheathed the two swords. The crowd burst into a roar as Blaze, Allen, and the generals jumped from the crowd, running toward Danny to congratulate him. Aria burst into tears as Kana pushed her out the exit leading to the arena, Claire following closely behind.

"You did it! You did it!"

Krystal and Blaze lifted Danny into the air as Vance and Chaos smiled. Allen walked over after the two were done with their celebratory tosses, shaking his hand and saying, "its been an honor teaching you how to be a guildsman, Danny."

Danny smiled and replied, "no, the honor's mine."

"Danny!"

Danny turned around to see Aria smiling and running at him with tears in her eyes. Catching her, he twirled her in the air as they embraced each other. Aria repeatedly said his name as Allen tapped his shoulder and said, "by the way, there's someone you should see that's standing with your father."

Turning to where his father was sitting, Danny felt his heart throb as he saw the one face he thought he would never ever see again.

Kana Harada.

His mother.

Smiling, Danny felt a single tear streak down from his left eye, closing them and turning to Aria, who was looking up at him. She was still smiling with teary eyes at him as he brushed away her hair covering her eye, revealing the golden iris and her scarlet iris as he leaned down and kissed her, getting kissed in return.


	11. Chapter 11

"You aren't returning to Avalene with us?"

Danny shook his head and replied, "I think I'm needed more here in Ameris than I am in Avalene."

Aria looked down with a frown. Allen caught wind of the action and said to Danny, "you know, you don't have to stay."

Looking at Allen, Danny shook his head and said, "I think that my father would much rather I stayed here with humans rather than be with more demons than I already am with."

Vernon nodded as Kana said, "then I'll be returning to Meredith."

Danny turned to his mother, who said, "your aunt can't really control everyone in that village, you know." Everyone laughed at the remark for a moment until Aria frowned again.

"I...love you...Danny…."

All eyes turned toward Aria as Danny stared at her for some time before walking up to her and hugging her, catching her by surprise. He remained silent for some time as she returned the gesture, pulling him tighter.

"I want some time to mature," Danny finally stated to her.

Everyone perked up as Danny continued.

"I don't want to be a burden to anyone, which is why I'm staying here in Ameris. I'm only sixteen after all. So until we're older, I don't want to weigh you down, okay?"

Aria nodded, her tears soaking in his shirt. Danny pulled her tighter and took a deep breath and said, "but don't forget, Aria, I love you."

Aria's sobbing escaped past his shirt as Claire ran up and hugged Blaze, receiving a kiss afterwards.

* * *

><p><em>It's been two years since the drama of the Ameris-Avalene Negotiations.<em>

_The talks were successful, as the war came to a swift end._

_Lord Vernon continues to lead the country well, while my father is busy with the paperwork._

_Oh yeah, and also, my sister just recently got married to you-know-who._

_After all, she fell in love with him after the kidnapping rescue._

_Yes, it feels like it has been forever ago since then._

_So until then, I hope you all live life well._

_-Aria Allister"_

Aria sighed, setting down her feather pen as she heard a knocking on her bedroom door.

"Come in," she called, seeing a maid come in and say, "m'lady, there is someone here to see you."

Raising an eyebrow, Aria stretched and said, "very well, let them know I'll be down shortly."

The maid nodded, closing the door as Aria picked out some proper clothing to wear. She thought of all the people she could think of, but couldn't think of anyone in particular that would come by to see her considering she was staying in Ameris City at the moment.

"_Lady Kana? No, it couldn't be. Lord Vernon? Definitely not. Claire? No, she wouldn't waste a trip to Ameris City just for me."_

While Aria was thinking about the possible people it could be, she ran into something. Or rather, some_one_.

Quick to apologize, she was cut short by a familiar voice asking her, "what're you apologizing for?"

Looking up, she saw jet black hair, bronze irises, and a smile she could never possibly forget.

Danny Harada.

Danny smiled as she soaked up the information her eyes were feeding to her brain, bursting into tears and half-tackling him into a hug several moments later.

* * *

><p>A roar echoed from the top of Half-Blood peak as an ancient castle in the Rift Forest began to glow an ominous green in the darkening day.<p>

Allen stared out his window as Sei-Hyun walked up next to him.

"What's his name is awake and hungry," she said to him.

Allen nodded and said, "that means that _that_ has opened again, right?"

Sei-Hyun nodded as Allen turned back to her, gritting his teeth. Sei-Hyun continued staring out the window and said, "this is the first time that a half-demon has the potential to reach Level S after all, so don't be surprised if there are catastrophic events that occur soon."

Allen nodded again and said, "it's all up to his heart now; whether he chooses to be human or demon will decided the future."


End file.
